1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nestable crate for transporting and storing containers, and particularly bottles.
2. Background Art
Bottles, particularly those used to contain soft drinks and other beverages, are often transported and stored in crates having a bottom surrounded by four sidewalls. These crates generally are configured to be stacked on top of each other both when empty and when loaded with bottles. These crates are known in the art generally as full-depth and half-depth crates. Half-depth crates are shorter than full-depth crates, thus providing for greater visibility of the crates' contents.
Full-depth and half-depth crates are not designed to nest with one another and do not significantly stack, and thus do not store efficiently when empty. They typically have vertical exterior surfaces from top to bottom, and minimal wall stock, for providing a minimal overall length and width to allow for as much bottle density and as little crate structure as possible, in order to provide for pallet optimization, with little or no pallet overhang. The bottom of these crates extends downwardly and inwardly offset from the sidewalls defining a crate footprint. The stacking feature of such crates is typically limited to this bottom footprint, which is received within the rim of a like container to achieve more stable stack. One design is shown in U.S. Design Pat. No. D 361,663.
These crates are designed to balance many factors, including the need for structure and strength against having a footprint appropriately sized to provide pallet optimization. However, to achieve a significant degree of nesting with such crates, beyond that described above, would require a larger footprint, a more significant sidewall structure and more taper in the walls, and therefore detracts from the aforementioned pallet optimization.
On the other hand a third type of crate, low-depth crates, have generally been designed for bottles having a straight, cylindrical body with tapering tops. Unlike their half-depth and full-depth counterparts, low-depth crates typically have a led construction with tapered sidewalls—thus leading to greater pallet overhang—in order to provide for a nesting height of typically 50% between like crates. Bottles placed in low-depth and half-depth crates extend above the sidewalls of the crates. Thus, when loaded with bottles and in a stacked orientation, containers in such crates must be able to support the weight of other cases stacked on top of them. Once loaded with bottles, crates are typically stacked on top of each other in layers on top of a pallet, which is then lifted and moved about by forklifts. However, many low depth nestable crates may lack the features for maintaining loaded bottles in a substantially vertically upright position to bear the compressive load of crates stacked thereon.
Further, it is common for entire layers of crates to be lifted and moved about by way of an automated product lifting and handling device which can be installed on a conventional forklift and enables the lifting of an entire layer of product from a pallet. Briefly, such devices typically grabs each side of a layer of crates and use compressive loads to keep the layer intact, transferring forces from the sidewalls of the crate to the bottles therein, to the sidewalls of an adjacent crate, and so on. Unfortunately, some crates may not provide sufficient surface area or vertical sidewall construction, which would hinder or prevent the use of the automatic handling machinery. The often tapered sidewalls of a low-depth crate is just one example.
Thus, there is a need for an improved crate for storing and transporting containers, and particularly beverage containers. Such crate should be nestable to provide for more efficient storing and handling of the crates when emptied. Further, such crates should maintain bottles stored therein in a generally upright position. The crates should also be able to nest with various types of crates, including similar crates and non-similar half-depth and full-depth crates. Moreover, when similar crates are in a layered orientation, such crates should be capable of being lifted by automated lifting machinery.